Originally Posted by
ArtsyOne
Definitely check out Craigslist. I had the same problem as you - my trusty 35-year-old Kenmore is far too heavy for me to take to classes and for only $65 I found a newer lightweight Kenmore made by Janome (box says it's a 12102). Only draw-back is that FMQ is a pain because the feed dogs don't drop, but for sewing blocks it's fabulous.
I never drop the feed dogs on my Janome 6600--just set the stitch length at 0. That works really well, have had no problems. It's what Leah Day does, she never drops her feed dogs.